Let’s take a look at the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges and what they have to offer.
This list will be covering centralized exchanges.
For those who are new to crypto, yes the exchanges I’ll be going over today are all centralized, they use centralized servers and are a single entity that holds your funds and is subjected to regulations.
Keep an eye out for when I feature a list of decentralized exchanges, those are the exchanges that are peer-to-peer, requires little to no personal information to join, and they do not hold your funds for you, so they are not seen as a honeypot for hackers.
Now to briefly go over a few of the exchanges that are most commonly used:
Coinbase:
Very user friendly, but perhaps most well known now because of the attention from the IRS investigation that was launched nearly a year ago.
Kraken:
Less user friendly, but has maintained a good reputation throughout the years.
Poloniex:
Strictly a cryptocurrency exchange so you cannot deposit or withdraw fiat, but it has a good amount of volume so trades don’t take long
Bittrex:
Very similar to Poloniex in regards to trading capabilities and the fact that you cannot fund your account with fiat currency
Shapeshift:
An exchange that does not hold your funds, it is a fast way to trade one crypto for another.
Now that we’ve identified the top dogs of crypto exchanges, let’s take a look at how they differentiate themselves, what their fees are, which coins they support and what you’ll need to do to get an account.
You can find links to all of the following information down below.
Coinbase:
There has been lots of attention regarding the IRS investigation, but in my opinion, coinbase is only the first crypto exchange to be targeted by the IRS, they certainly won’t be the last. Which is all the more reason to consider looking into use decentralized exchanges. Not available in Hawaii, Wyoming, or Minnesota.
Fees:
Conversion fees vary depending on your location and also your method of buying/selling. Coinbase doesn’t charge fees to use their wallet service, but if you transfer to a different wallet they might pass on the network miner’s fee to you. They will notify you of this during the transaction.Coins supported:
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin in addition to letting you fund your account with fiat currencies like USD and Euro.Verification requirements:
As with any exchange, you can raise your limits by providing more of your personal information. You can get the bare minimum wallet with your full name and email. If you want to make a purchase using your credit or debit card then you’ll have to provide your bank details and verify your identity with government issued identification.
Kraken:
Is meant for experienced traders. You can trade with many different cryptos as well as a number of different fiat currencies. Allows for margin trading
Fees:
Kraken also is known for having relatively low fees compared to other big crypto exchanges. There are a few variables that will determine the fees you will pay. Things like the amount you are trading, which currency pairs you are trading and the tier of your account all are taken into account when Kraken calculates your fees. These fees can range from 0% to 0.26%, both the buyer and the seller pay a fee but the buyer pays a higher fee.Coins supported:
They have a list of 17 cryptocurrencies and they also accept deposits and withdrawals with fiat currencies USD, Euro, British Pound, Canadian Dollar and Japanese Yen.Verification requirements:
For a basic trading account you’ll need to provide your full name, address, phone number, and date of birth. If you want access to advanced trading options be prepared to supply them with a government issued ID and if you’re in the US you’ll need to provide your social security number.
Poloniex:
As I mentioned earlier, this exchange deals with a lot of volume which is good for making trades, but a few months ago it reached the point where the poloniex team was unable to handle the drastic surge in users. Causing trades to come to a halt mixed with severely delayed customer service which resulted in whole bunch of panic and a drop in faith in the exchange itself. That being said, Poloniex is still a very popular exchange that offers advanced trading options like margin trading and lending as well.
Fees:
The fees on Poloniex are determined by the last 30 days of trading volume on your account, the higher the volume, the more the fees are reduced. They can range from 0% to 0.25%. Also, there will be a 15% fee applied to earned interest for lenders.Coins supported:
Poloniex supports 101 cryptocurrencies, you can see the full list by checking out the links down below in the description.Verification requirements:
Again, like Kraken, for the basic level of trading on Poloniex you’ll need to provide your name, phone number, address and date of birth. This gives you a $2,000/day deposit/withdrawal limit and with the Level 2 verification you’ll need to provide proof of identity with a government issued photo ID and this will bring you up to a $25,000 daily deposit/withdrawal limit.
Bittrex:
Is also an exchange designed purely for cryptocurrencies and I personally think this exchange is slightly better designed than Poloniex and far better than Kraken.
Fees:
Bittrex applies a blanket 0.25% commission fee for all trades. They will not apply additional fees for deposits and withdrawals other than the normal network fees applied by the miners of that particular coin.Coins supported:
Bittrex has an impressive list of 257 coins that are available to be traded.Verification Requirements:
For their basic account you’ll need to provide your name, address and date of birth. If they cannot verify this information with public records, you can verify yourself by submitting your mobile phone number and verify yourself through text message. Their enhanced account requires you to submit a scan of your ID plus a selfie.
ShapeShift:
Similar to a decentralized exchange in that they do not hold any of your funds. They basically act as the medium for your trades.
Fees:
Shapeshift does not apply any exchange or service fees, they will only pass on the miner fees to you. However I highly suggest checking the exchange rate that they give you since this is how they make money. Shapeshift is easy and convenient, but you may pay in other ways like poor exchange rates so it’s always smart to double check this if it is important for you to save money.Coins supported:
There is a total of 55 coins currently available to be traded using Shapeshift.Verification Requirements:
No identification is required, all you need is the address of the coin you currently hold, and an address for the coin you would like to trade it for.
I’d like to cover a few more but for the sake of time I’ll just strongly encourage you to check out these other exchanges:
Bitfinex:
Perhaps the most advanced crypto exchange with a healthy list of trading options so if that’s something that interests you definitely check out Bitfinex. However, it’s important to note that very recently they’ve expressed their intentions to remove their services from US citizens.
Cryptopia:
An exchange that lists just under 1000 cryptocurrencies. The volume isn’t always impressive or helpful but you’ve gotta admit that amount of coins is noteworthy. What else is noteworthy about cryptopia is the fact that it’s also a place where you can sell anything to anyone for crytocurrency.
Local Bitcoins:
Your best bet to buy cryptocurrency if your local fiat currency isn’t accepted on the major exchanges. This is the site that connects buyers and sellers who are in the same area so they can meet in person to conduct the transaction, or you can also organize a deposit into a bank account. Local bitcoins then holds the bitcoin in their escrow service until the seller confirms that the transaction has taken place.
Additional Reading/Sources:
Coinbase Website
Coinbase fees
Coinbase Identification Requirements
Coinbase is available in these countries
Coinbase & IRS article 1
2
3
Poloniex Fees
Poloniex Cryptos
Poloniex Help Resources: https://poloniex.com/support/
Poloniex Verification Requirements
Poloniex issues
Bittrex coins
Bittrex Fees
Bittrex Verification
ShapeShift Exchange Rates
ShapeShift Fees
Bitfinex Fees
Bitfinex Features
Long list of exchanges and a rating system with supplemental info found in comments
Arbitrage Opportunities
List of exchanges with their 24 hr volume and number of trading pairs
Great summary Heidi.... is crazy and anoying at first how long some of them take to validate, like Kraken or Coinbase. But at the end I hope those also have more "legal backup" and less likely to shot down, that is what we hope at least. I would add that anybody that has a Coinbase account can also use Gdax, is the same backend web, more gear for daytrader, and the fees are way cheaper. You can move your funds instantly between them, is really nice, and you safe a BUNCH of money
Not listing GDAX.com seems like a major oversight.
The silent/secret partner of coinbase.com, that you would use if you want more sophisticated trades. Limit buys. Stop loss sells. And commission can be free if you do limit based trades as opposed to taking market price
only for US citizens tho right?
GDAX currently operates in the US, Europe, UK, Canada, Australia and Singapore.
Check this link: https://support.gdax.com/customer/en/portal/articles/2425188-which-countries-and-states-can-access-gdax-
Thanks, upvoted
Check it out:
https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@deeplizard/gdax-and-coinbase-around-the-globle-which-countries-are-supported
Kind regards,
@deeplizard
I think GDAX is the platform that Coinbase is running on. Coinbase is just the front end. This is like saying that she missed DOS because she only mentioned Windows.
I have some GDAX content here:
https://steemit.com/@deeplizard
you have my full UV
Thanks for your support :)
good to see people on Steemit offering real value unlike kingscrown who just posts 5 words a day basically and still gets paid anyway really big amounts
I know you can't cover them all, but if I might....
Gemini is a pretty good exchange, although it is limited in what you can trade. But for building a base with BTC & ETH, it's great and cheaper than coinbase.
Wish I'd found them before I used coinbase.
I did register on quite a bit of exchanges when I started at first simply to find out what suits me best. Some exchanges might not have the currency you currently want to trade though so keep that in mind before sending your bitcoins or make deposits and double check if they have the coins you want to buy or exchange.
I wrote an article about how to avoid paying any transaction fees while sending Bitcoin from Coinbase. There is a trick :-D
https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@hotsauceislethal/no-transaction-fee-bitcoin-trick-using-coinbase
It's so easy even a caveman could do it!
I've read mixed reviews about Coinbase and Poliniex, though I've had a Coinbase account for a while. I've also read really good reviews about Bittrex and recently setup an account there. Still have much to learn about the Cryptocurrency world and soaking up as much info as I can. Thanks for this informative post.
@andrewhall Give this playlist a look (all about GDAX, Coinbase's exchange product). It's more like a brokerage account:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZbbT5o_s2xr17PqeytCKiCD-TJj89rII
Kind regards,
@deeplizard
Thanks for the informative article!
I also write articles for beginners and old professionals in the crypto world. Maybe check them out if you fancy? Just started out with Steemit :)
Also for anyone Interested in upcoming and (still) under the radar ICOs:
I have currently a subscriber reward system going. For every milestone reached I will share an exciting and promising ICO which is before pre-sale or crowdsale whitelist closure. Next milestone at 25 subs!
Thank you! I'm a newbie here and your post shines some light on the subject. :)
@shewmuze Since you are a newbie, you may want to give this playlist a look. Let me know what you think! I hope it helps!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZbbT5o_s2xr17PqeytCKiCD-TJj89rII
Kind regards,
@deeplizard
I was surprised that so many require such extensive ID. Thank you for this welcome breakdown.
Check out this post on that. This is a newer requirement:
https://steemit.com/crypto/@deeplizard/gdax-and-coinbase-require-ssn-and-drivers-license-why
I hope this helps!
Kind regards,
@deeplizard
Thank you, that was very helpful.
Awesome! :)
Great post, I have been searching for a exchange overview for a while.
My favorite is Bitfinex for a two reasons:
What I don't like, is that the order book is not really transparent, like on many exchanges. Hidden stop-losses that are required for all margin options change the oder book quite a bit, but it is not visible to traders. I will post a rant about this topic in a while because no one seems to understand the significance of this issue.
Thanks a lot, this was very helpful!! Would really appreciate if you post a video talking about the best decentralized exchanges.
best crypto exchanges
looks like many are missing
c-cex
yobit
chinese exchanges
bitmex
:)
There are many exchanges, some were bound to be missing ;)
c-cex is terrible, okcoin & huobi are spot on!
Excellent overview. Thank you for doing this. I'm afraid there is no way out for the exchanges in terms of turning data over the IRS. Unfortunately, this is likely a necessary step if crypto is to reach its full potential. Maybe someday, when cryptos are more mature, we won't even need exchanges as they currently exist. Keep up the good work.
It's all about the decentralized exchanges. However even with these they can have a centralized bottleneck hidden... always loving the constant innovations of blockchain tech :)
Thanks for this useful information @heiditravels. I usually use Bittrex.
which is the best for you?
I also tend to use Bittrex more often due to their variety of coins, and since I'm not trading in huge amounts the fees are pretty much the same on the different exchanges.
Digital coins market, such as women. changed his temper very quickly. Nothing can be expected.
The only thing I'm sure of is that today is an opportunity for everyone to become rich in the future. But I don't know when to become rich. Maybe after one year and maybe after 10 years
Those darn women/crypto always changing their temperament... When do you think people will learn to chill out when the prices go on sale?
Yeah, we all know them womenz like a good sale...
Your answer is quick and very smart.
Nice reporting, as usual! Thanks for the tips :)
Thank you @adventureevryday :)
great post like it and upvoted!!!
Thanks!
Very good post @heiditravels
@heiditravels Awesome posts sir... I thoroughly concur along with you. Adore it..
You're repeating the same comments.
If it walks like a bot, squawks like a bot, it may be flagged for being a bot!
Your Reputation Could be a Tasty Snack with the Wrong Comment!
Thank You! ⚜
Cheers!
Why didn't you list BTC China?
lol, that's the one that's shutting down ;)
;-)
Great post, you seem to get the important stuff without going into the constant (negative) rumors about some exchanges.. Could really have used this 2-3 month ago when I started out :D
Thank you for the valuable information. Please keep up the great work. If you get a chance, please follow me at www.steemit.com/@ValVenisEnt. I talk crypto, politics and cannabis.
Very resourceful and wealthy information! When I started with exchanges, I never knew what I was getting into until after the lengthy sign up process. Thanks so much!
its dodgy mining at this time https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@stiffywalsh/1-6-million-computers-infected-with-mining-malware
very good..
nice post..
@heiditravels excellent & informative post ! upvoted & Resteem !
thanks
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Really great guideline @heiditravels
100% Resteem candidate (I've done this already)!
It is also interesting to see any overview of Asian exchanges like: Bithumb, Okcoin, Houbi, Binance - their trading volumes are just crazy!
Great overview! Bookmarking this so I can send to my friends who want to get started in crypto too! I've learned so much from your YouTube videos (you also make me want to go travel more), and now I'll be learning more from your Steemit too! Thanks!
@sketch678 This playlist covers quite a bit of material for newbies. Check it out!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZbbT5o_s2xr17PqeytCKiCD-TJj89rII
Kind regards,
@deeplizard
Thanks for the overview. Very well done.
i prefer coin base ,my favorite .
Thanx for the info!!! :-)
@heiditravels Steemit is gonna adjust a great deal of lifes, it's transformed mine and several Other folks but that is certainly just the start..
Thank you for sharing ! Great post like always :)
https://steemit.com/blog/@splendorhub/is-never-too-late
Best wishes.
@heiditravels This is great news. Nicely carried out!.
the exchangers are important for the mining of criptomonedas because it is very varied the amount of criptodivisas that can be mined and obtain by means of the faucet, but later to charge them in money money like the dollar it is necessary to convert them to bitcoin quickly and to transfer them, for this the exchangers solve the problem
Thank you for the post
Great list, even still 10 months on. Kudos Heidi!
A new exchange I feel that's worth adding to this top list is Covesting. If you haven’t heard of them already, Covesting is an exceptionally secure user-friendly, cryptocurrency copy-trading and exchange platform.
The Covesting platform services are attractive to both novice investors and professional traders. They cover a wide range of cryptocurrency trading aspects, from education, market analysis, and trading ideas to liquidity aggregation, copy-trading and algorithmic order execution.
Like the ones you have listed here Covesting is centralized, as well as DLT registered under Gibraltar jurisdiction, which follow the strictest KYC policies for safety and security.
Its an all encompassing platform that not only provides users with the best tools but an all-in-one resource for everything crypto and trading related.
I'd have to say though one of the biggest attractions, is the user experience and user interface design. Its simple and intuitive, which is necessary when already under the pump from the stresses of crypto trading.
The site is in the last phase of its beta version due to launch this quarter (Q3, 2018).
Worth checking out if you haven't already: https://covesting.io
I've been into kucoin and it's not that bad. Well, speaking of they would be giving away btc for their anniversary! For more info you could look more here https://www.kucoin.com/#/anniversary/overview
Crazy times, trade it X100
https://www.bitmex.com/register/HJfZyC
Yes I clarified this in the very beginning of this post. And I also mentioned I'll be making a list of decentralized exchanges soon to come ;)